University of North Alabama - Diorama Yearbook (Florence, AL)

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On the Aight foot students attending SOAR get a head start on preparing for their academic career and xperience a bit of college life during a summer session by leff Furno and Jennifer Vickroy Y WAY of introaoRion, SOAR ctSOnselors . Geor Long.TCTrti arby; dK?t5 Sbaw, and Kim Hlank««ship perform a song- and-dance routine for SOARees at Counselor ' s Skits. We have made a few changes this year in our pro- gram and the response from our incoming freshmen has been overwhelming, said Mr. Bob Glenn, Director of Student Activities and SOAR Director. SOAR (Summer Orien- tation and Advance Registra- tion) is a two-day introduc- tion to a college student ' s next four years. The whole concept of SOAR is to prepare a person for the transition from high school to college life. Pre- sumably if a student knows what to expect from the uni- versity and what the univer- sity expects in return, the college experience will be a successful one. So many students leave the university after their first semester because they just didn ' t know what to expect and had no direction. If we can help them to make it through that first year, odds are that when they do leave the university it will be with a diploma, said Dr. Daniel Leasure, Dean of Stu- dent Affairs. Cinder the direction of ten upperclassmen SOAR counselors, the SOARees be- gan their 48 hour adventure by checking into the dorm and meeting their temporary roommates. After check-in, the freshmen were divided into small groups, each group with its own counsel- or. BREAKING THE ICE is what New Games Mixers are all about. In this game. SOAR counselor David Shelley (right) and his arm-locked team struggle to stand up, a feat requiring trust and teamwork. The first morning ' s schedule consisted of pro- grams such as Counselor ' s Skits, portraying different situations that may occur during a freshman ' s first se- mester, and New Games Mix- ers among the freshmen to build trust and teamwork. Lunch enabled the freshmen to continue to in- teract on a one-to-one basis. The afternoon consisted of small discussion groups which allowed the freshmen to ask questions regarding every aspect of college life. That evening, the SOARees were treated to din- ner theatre in the Great Hall. The SOAR Cabaret, which delighted its audience with singing, and dancing, and skits, also made the fresh- men feel more at home. The Cabaret began with several members of the show doing solo numbers which included such songs as And I Am Telling You 1 Am Not Going, and In My House. The entire Cabaret then joined for several original songs, all with the SOAR theme in mind, and a special song for the incoming fresh- men by Cissy Ashley, Miss CJNA. After the show and din- ner the festivities were by no means over. The stage was cleared and dinner tables moved to make room for the SOAR Dance. (Cent, on page 26)

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DURING A 20 minute semester, SOARees Lance Thompson and Christa Garner work diligently to complete a class assignment. In- coming freshmen got a taste of what the future holds in these one- hour college simulations at SOAR. Participants also registered for their fall semester classes. THE CATERPILLAR is a great way to get to know people. In this New Game Mixer. SOAR counselor James Bell rolls across the backs of SOAR participants, who form a caterpillar on the Flowers Hall gym floor.

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(Cont. from page 25) The freshmen spent the next two hours dancing and splitting back up into their groups to participate in a lip sync contest which, al- though some freshmen ad- mitted was a little embar- rassing at first, seemed to be enjoyed by all. The second and final day of SOAR was composed of group tours of the campus followed by the Freshman Year Simulation, a game in which the freshmen set their own goals for their first year in school. The simulation included classes, study time, tests, and every once in a while, a student would be given an emergency card which may require someone to modify his goals. Fun things like Home- coming, Christmas Break, and Spring Fling were includ- ed in the simulation. After the game the last requirement of the fresh- men ' s day was registration for Fall classes. Under the direction of their counselors and faculty advis ors, students picked their classes, had their IDs made, and prepared for the trip home, having had a two- day tour of college life. They had also gained better under- standing of what their next four years were going to be all about. DEVOTING TWO NIGHTS a week during the summer to the entertain- ment of incoming freshmen, the SOAR cast recruits yet another group of SOARees with the original song We ' ve Got It All! The SOAR Cabaret cast included Debra East- land. Lisa Jackson, Todd Paro, Tonya Russell, Beth McKinney, Lisa Rogers. Dan Caine, Mike Gooch. Noel Gartman. Cissy Ash- ley. Richard Welborn, and Elizabeth Ragsdale. Jip„ ■ • J v d;